France is going through its third week of confinement and children's aid associations agree on one observation: calls concerning child violence are increasing. “ Last night, an 11 year old child called me. He was whispering. The call was quiet enough, he couldn't speak very loud because it was midnight. He told me that he had woken up on purpose, that he had waited until his parents fell asleep before going to secretly take his big brother's cell phone, take refuge in a separate room, and call us. He told me about all the violence he had suffered during the day, and explained to me that he also had a little sister of 5 years old and another of 4 months old. I asked him if he agreed to let social workers be contacted urgently. He accepted, ”reported Tuesday to Figaro Céline, a listening volunteer at 119.
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For young victims of mistreatment, confinement could turn into a real ordeal insofar as it presents " an additional danger factor for mistreatment ", believes Agnès Gindt-Ducros, director of the National Observatory for the Protection of 'childhood (ONPE). A very perverse effect of which the government is well aware: " We wanted to protect the most vulnerable part of our population by closing schools, but that exposes some children to another risk ", declares to Le Figaro the Secretary of State for child protection Adrien Taquet.
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Raise the alert in a pharmacy
The news sadly reminded him last Friday, when a 6 year old child died under the blows of his father while doing his homework.
To prevent the rise in violence, the government claims to have set up an alert system: all associations and listeners are mobilized ( La Voix de l'Enfant, l'Enfant Bleu, Colossus with clay feet and 119 ), the hotlines in the juvenile courts are assured and the emergency procedures maintained. The ministry also recalls that victims of domestic violence or child abuse can raise the alarm in a pharmacy.
An awareness campaign on children in danger will be launched, including the establishment of a citizen platform for associations in need of reinforcement. The 119 will in turn set up online messaging. Prevention videos will also be broadcast, in order to " provide benchmarks and parental support resources ", and psychologists will be mobilized to respond to parents in difficulty.
“ Confinement exacerbates tense family situations, with destabilized parents, sometimes on work stoppage or partial unemployment, and confronted with the management of the virtual school. There is a resurgence of violence in vulnerable families, and it will go crescendo, "says Pascal Vigneron, director of 119, who, like other child protection associations, has seen an increase in calls for emergency during this second week of confinement.
With a current average of 750 calls per day, the 119 is on the lookout. “ Children are constantly in the presence of their parents, so they cannot necessarily call us. Some do not have a telephone. And then, they no longer have contact with the outside world, they cannot talk to other adults. The alert chain is shortened, the children are alone in front of the parents, ”explains Camaro Gaillard, the psychologist of the association Enfant Bleu.
This is why Adrien Taquet calls “ to collective mobilization ”. However, alerting is far from being a reflex among the French: only one in four French calls 119 if there is a suspicion of violence against a child. Even more worrying, according to a 2017 survey by Harris Interactive, 79% of French people describe mistreatment as being a “taboo” subject. A situation which explains figures that are already worrying in "normal" times: every five days, a child dies under the blows of his parents in France, according to a report by the IGAS (General Inspection of Social Affairs) published in 2019. " We must call as soon as there is a doubt, ”urges Pascal Vigneron.
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" Family secrecy - that is the problem ", analyzes the Secretary of State, and " the fear that this will be seen as information ", adds Pascal Vigneron: " Let us be concerned with what does not don't look, go see what's going on with the neighbors. We must desecrate the 119, ”said the director of the emergency number. " Intervening in the privacy of neighbors remains strange for many, but when a third person intervenes, it can bring down the tension, " said the director of the ONPE.
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